Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Houghton University

Houghton, NY · 5 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$276,006 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.

Modeled economic break-even
−105%Modeled 10-year ROI
$43,607Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
Includes direct price and earnings forgone while studying. Assumes $45,000 in alternative annual earnings and no wage growth. How we calculate it
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$276,006at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$262,0760
2
4
6
8
−$276,00610
Years after graduationBreak-even: years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$18,430
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$18,430
Sticker price
Average net price$20,519
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$31,143
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Main award level
Bachelor’s degrees
Campus setting
Rural
Admissions
Selective admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$20,519Average net price / year
$31,143Cost of attendance
$25,250Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$268/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$43,607Median earnings · year 5 after completion
65.2%Completion rate
88.7%Admission rate
753Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$19,147
$30–48k$18,503
$48–75k$19,312
$75–110k$19,974
$110k+$22,424
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$43,607
Year 6$36,376
Year 10$46,721
Full-time retention
84.0%
Part-time retention
0.0%
Completion within 200% of normal time
61.7%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

46thEarnings percentile
60thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$37,822Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$21,450Median federal debt across categories that report debt
0%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$27,345Year 1
$41,835Year 4
$43,607Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Business Administration, Management and Operations · Bachelor's Degree$60,3932Communication and Media Studies · Bachelor's Degree$45,1343Psychology, General · Bachelor's Degree$37,8224Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$31,881

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

Strongest relative outcomes

Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark

This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential—not simply majors that pay more everywhere.

1Business Administration, Management and OperationsBachelor's Degree · $60,393 reported-12%vs same-degree national median$21,450federal debt2Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's Degree · $45,134 reported-20%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt3Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $37,822 reported-25%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree · $31,881 reported-28%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in NY

Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

New York, NY

Gemological Institute of America-New York

Annual net price
$18,977
Observed earnings · year 5
$44,504
Modeled 10-year ROI
-102%
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Brooklyn, NY

EDP School

Annual net price
$16,787
Observed earnings · year 5
$41,901
Modeled 10-year ROI
-113%
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Long Island City, NY

Apex Technical School

Annual net price
$14,826
Observed earnings · year 5
$43,190
Modeled 10-year ROI
-108%
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Buffalo, NY

Villa Maria College

Annual net price
$13,494
Observed earnings · year 5
$43,596
Modeled 10-year ROI
-106%
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ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Business Administration, Management and OperationsBachelor's Degree$60,393$21,450Not reported
Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's Degree$45,134Not availableNot reported
Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$37,822Not availableNot reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssociate's Degree$31,881Not availableNot reported
Biology, GeneralBachelor's DegreeNot available$28,000Not reported

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.